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(Sharecast News) - There are no FTSE 350 releases of note due on Friday, but investors will eye the eagerly-awaited SpaceX IPO and the April GDP reading for the UK.
SpaceX shares are expected to start trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX.
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, noted that the price of the IPO is set to be revealed after the US market close on Thursday. "Eager retail investors keen to buy into Musk's extra-terrestrial ambitions will find out before the launch on Friday how many they'll be allocated. SpaceX is targeting retail allocation of 30%, a much higher slice than a typical IPO," she said.
"Shares look set for a big pop as trading begins on the Nasdaq, given the frenzy surrounding the launch. Demand from investors is reported to be four times greater than the number of shares available in the offering. But it could trigger yet another wave of erratic buying and selling across the tech sector. We are already seeing some repositioning of portfolios as eager investors free up money to gain exposure.
"Given there's so much money riding on this IPO it could also influence broader market sentiment. A stronger, more durable debut may boost confidence in high-growth technology companies and encourage investors to increase exposure to related sectors across artificial intelligence and aerospace. But a disappointing start could spark off another spurt of profit-taking across the sector."
The UK GDP reading is due at 0700 BST. Michael Hewson at MCH Market Insights said the economy proved to be remarkably resilient in the first quarter, with the improvement, entirely driven by the service sector which grew by 0.8%, while there was also some growth in manufacturing, as well as construction.
"While this growth is welcome, the rapid surge in energy prices, as well as increased taxes which started in April look set to snuff all of this out, despite an April inflation number that showed price growth slowed from 3.3% to 2.8%," he said.
"As we head into Q2 there is a sense that this could be as good as it gets for the UK for a while, bedevilled as it is by political chaos as well as economic illiteracy on the part of its political class.
"Notwithstanding all of that there have been flickers of resilience with the manufacturing sector showing strength in recent PMI numbers which rose to a 4-year high in May.
"That, however came against a backdrop of clients front loading purchases to mitigate price increases and supply chain disruption that are expected later in the year.
"This appears to be showing up in surging input costs which also rose at their fastest rate in four years, while the much bigger services sector saw economic activity in May collapse to its lowest level since January 2021. "Here we saw sustained rises in input cost inflation, as well as a continued decline in payrolls, for the 20th month in succession.
"In response to higher input costs businesses were having to raise prices with business optimism the lowest in over a year."
Against that backdrop, the April GDP could prove to be "the last hurrah for a UK economy that starts to slow sharply as we head into the summer," Hewson said.